Stimulation of oviposition by the cabbage root fly Erioischia brassicae

A study was made of physical and chemical aspects of oviposition stimulation in E. brassicae.It was shown that contact chemostimulation provided by host plant material stimulated the gravid female to probe with the ovipositor into cracks in which eggs were laid. Carbon disulphide stimulated oviposition at certain concentrations in water, but solutions of carbon disulphide and three other chemicals previously shown to stimulate oviposition were less effective in mixtures than the juice of swede, Brassica napus var. napobrassica, a favoured host. The addition of mangold juice or 20% sucrose solution to solutions of chemostimulants appeared to enhance oviposition.The most favourable soil for oviposition was of particles approximately 1 mm in diameter which may just permit the complete entry of the extended ovipositor, and provide irregularities against which eggs can be laid.

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Zusammenfassung Eine Untersuchung der physikalischen und chemischen Aspekte der Eiablage-Stimulation von Erioischia brassicae wurde durchgeführt.Es wurde gezeigt, daß chemischer Kontakt mit dem material der Wirtspflanze die trächtigen Tiere dazu veranlasste, Vertieferungen mit dem Ovipositor abzutasten, in welche dann Eier abgelegt wurden.Gewisse Konzentrationen wässriger Schwefelkohlenstofflösungen stellten einen Anreiz zur Eiablage dar. Jedoch waren Mischungen von CS₂-Lösungen mit vier anderen Reizstoffen weniger wirkungsvoll als der Saft des bevorzugten Wirtes, Brassica napus L. var napobrassica (L.) Rchb. (Steckrübe). Der Zusatz von Mangoldsaft oder 20%-iger Zuckerlösung zu Lösungen von chemischen Reizstoffen schien die Eiablage zu steigern.Der bevorzugte Boden für die Eiablage hatte eine Korngrösse von ungefähr 1 mm Durchmesser, welche wahrscheinlich das vollständige Eindringen des ausgestreckten Ovipositors gestattet und das günstigste Substrat zur Eiablage darstellt.

     

The effect of colour of the substrate on the landing and oviposition behaviour of the cabbage root fly

Field and laboratory experiments were made in order to understand the relation between the spectral characteristic of a substrate and its attractiveness for Delia radicum (L.) (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) flies to land or oviposit. Landing females preferred substrates with high reflectance of green and particularly of yellow wavelengths, but substrates with a high proportion of the blue and green reflectance simultaneously (light blue and white) were also very attractive. Unattractive substrates had either low reflectance across the whole insect-visible spectrum (dark blue) or increased reflectance only in orange or red region of the spectrum (red) or a large proportion of UV reflectance (aluminium). Landing males were most attracted to the substrates with the highest total reflection. Oviposition attractiveness of a substrate grew with an increase in the proportion of reflectance in the blue and a decrease in the green regions of the spectrum. In addition, the oviposition attractiveness increased with increasing total reflection and contrast with the background, and decreased with a high proportion of UV reflectance.     

Influence of sulphur plant nutrition on oviposition and larval performance of the cabbage root fly

1 Oilseed rape plants (Brassica napus) (L.) (Brassicaceae) were grown under different levels of sulphur supply and tested for the oviposition preference and larval performance of cabbage root flies Delia radicum (L.) (Diptera: Anthomyiidae). 2 Adult females laid more than three‐fold as many eggs on control S_n (normal field concentration) than on sulphur‐free S₀ plants. By contrast, no significant difference was observed between control and double normal concentration (S₊) plants. 3 The larval performance was evaluated using three additional, intermediate sulphur levels between S₀ and S_n, and the plants were infected with equal numbers of eggs. The percentage pupation at the end of larval feeding ranged from 6% (S₀) to 32% (S_n or S₊) and the average number of pupae, or of emerging flies, was significantly correlated with sulphur application. 4 The weight of emerging males and females was correlated with plant sulphur supply. 5 The duration of development from eggs to adult emergence was approximately 2 days longer in females than in males. Females originating from plants with a normal or higher sulphur supply tended to emerge 1–2 days earlier.     

A cabbage root fly oviposition deterrent in the frass of garden pebble moth caterpillars

The cabbage root fly, Delia radicum (L.), was deterred from laying eggs on cauliflower plants sprayed with a water-soluble extract of the frass of caterpillars of the garden pebble moth, Evergestis forficalis (L.), which had fed on a range of cruciferous species. Chemical analysis of the extract revealed the presence of a phenolic acid which was not present in the frass of larvae of two other Lepidoptera (Mamestra brassicae (L.) and Plutella xylostella (L.)) that had fed on the same range of cruciferous plants. The deterrent chemical was isolated and identified as sinapic (3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxycinnamic) acid. Spraying cauliflower plants with a buffered solution of the acid in water (0.1, 1 and 10 mM) reduced the numbers of cabbage root fly eggs laid by 60–70%. In field experiments, the deterrent effect persisted 5 days after leaves were sprayed with a buffered, aqueous solution of the acid (10 mM).

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Résumé D. radicum L. a pondu beaucoup moins sur des choux-fleurs pulvérisés avec un extrait (polaire) hydrosoluble d'excréments de chenilles de E. forficalis L. qui avaient consommé différentes crucifères. La pulvérisation des choux-fleurs avec une suspension aqueuse d'éluate de méthanol d'une colonne polyamide et d'éluate aqueux d'une colonne florosile a réduit respectivement de 50 et 66% le nombre d'oeufs pondus. L'analyse chimique des fractions actives révèle la présence d'un acide phénolique isolé et identifié comme acide sinapique (3,5-diméthoxy-4-hydroxycinnamique). Cet acide est absent des excréments des chenilles de Mamestra brassicae L. et Plutella xylostella L. qui avaient consommé la même gamme de crucifères. La pulvérisation des plants de choux-fleurs par une solution aqueuse tamponnée d'acide sinapique a réduit la ponte de D. radicum de 60 à 70%. Dans la nature, l'effet dissuasif persiste sur choux-fleurs 5 jours après la pulvérisation avec une solution aqueuse tamponnée à 10 mM d'acide sinapique.

     

Physical and chemical factors influencing landing and oviposition by the cabbage root fly on host-plant models

Various plant models were used in both choice and no-choice tests in the laboratory to assess landing and oviposition preferences of the cabbage root fly,Delia radicum (L.). The main factor governing the site most suitable for landing was the conspicuousness of the object and not its shape. Oviposition was influenced considerably by the pre-conditioning of the females. Deprived females laid eggs even when denied access to both host plant chemicals and host-plant models. The dominant role of contact chemical stimuli in host acceptance was reconfirmed, but only a combination of physical and chemical stimuli appeared capable of eliciting normal oviposition. The combination of contact chemical stimuli and the presence of a stem on the test model had a synergistic effect on the numbers of eggs laid in both choice and no-choice situations. In choice bioassays, female cabbage root flies distinguished between models of different shapes, heights and sizes. The size and shape of the models appeared to be perceived in part after the flies had landed.     

Dispersal of the cabbage root fly

The dispersal rates of wild and culture cabbage root flies Erioischia brassicae were determined in release-recapture experiments at Wellesbourne in 1971–3. The experiments were concerned mainly with the first 7 days of adult life. The flies, released from nine locations in the area, were recaptured in yellow water-traps. Dispersal was affected by wind, rain and the terrain the flies were crossing. The flies least often recaptured were those released into the host crop when 6–12 days old. The results indicated the following pattern of behaviour. Flies moved little during the first 2 days of adult life but by the third day both sexes had dispersed to c. 100 m from the release point. Flies are known to mate about the fourth day and after this the males continued to disperse at c. 100 m per day for the three subsequent days. ‘Wild’ females from field-collected pupae carried out a ‘migratory’ flight, however, and dispersed at c. 1000 m per day during the fifth and sixth days, the days preceding the start of oviposition. Similar rates of dispersal were recorded from flies released across host crop and non-host crop areas. Some females did not stop at the first crop they encountered. The culture females from the laboratory-reared pupae dispersed only c. one-third of the distance of the wild females. There was considerable intermingling of local populations. The percentage recapture of young culture and wild flies released during the pre-oviposition period of this species was 38 ± 4 and 19 ±4 for males, and 15 + 2 and 8+1 for females, respectively. The dispersal range of the cabbage root fly is probably within a 2000–3000 m radius of the site of infestation.     

Dieldrin-resistant cabbage root fly in England

The existence of dieldrin resistance in Erioischia brassicae has been investigated in the main areas in England and Wales where brassicas are grown for human consumption. Dieldrin-susceptible and dieldrin-resistant flies were collected and bred as separate strains in the laboratory. In toxicity tests adult flies were treated with topically applied doses of insecticide in microdrops of cellosolve, and larvae were dipped in solutions of insecticide in 70% acetone and 30% water. Adults of the laboratory resistant strain showed a high level of resistance to dieldrin and aldrin and a lower level of resistance to γ-BHC. There was no cross-resistance with chlorfenvinphos or diazinon. Larvae of the resistant strain were shown to be resistant to dieldrin. Dieldrin resistance has been found in four areas in southern England, but not in a fifth major area, and resistant flies did not increase as rapidly in some areas as others. Sufficient migration of flies appeared to take place to produce similar percentages of resistant flies over areas of several square miles, but considerable differences were found in fly populations about 10 miles apart. It is suggested that the speed of development of insecticide resistance is affected by the proportion of brassica crops which are treated in an area, the amounts of insecticide applied to individual crops, and hence the insecticidal pressure applied to the E. brassicae population.     

植物精油对荔枝蒂蛀虫的产卵驱避效果

在室内采用非选择性和选择性两种试验方法,测定了14种非寄主植物精油对荔枝蒂蛀虫的产卵驱避效果.结果表明,香紫苏油、肉桂油和香茅油对荔枝蒂蛀虫有很好的产卵驱避效果,其非选择性产卵驱避率(ODRn)达90%以上;而选择性产卵驱避率(ODR.)达80%以上.留兰香油对荔枝蒂蛀虫也有较好的产卵驱避效果,其ODRn和ODR.分别为89.19%和73.30%.     

Foliar form, colour and surface characteristics influence oviposition behaviour in the cabbage root fly Delia radicum

The effects of foliar form, colour and surface characteristics on the oviposition behaviour of the cabbage fly were investigated by presenting females with various leaf models made of paper. The models differed in shape, size, colour, surface coating, the presence of 3 dimensional folds and a stem. It was shown that in the presence of host leaf surface extracts physical factors can strongly influence oviposition behaviour. Females laid the most eggs around the base of bright green or yellow models having a stem, vertical folds and covered with a thin layer of paraffin. The vertical folds in the surface increased the chance of a behavioural transition from leaf run to stem run.

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Zusammenfassung Mit Hilfe von Papiermodellen von Kohlblättern wurde der Einfluss von visuellen und mechanischen Eigenschaften des Blattes auf das Eiablageverhalten der kleinen Kohlfliege, Delia radicum, untersucht. Die verwendeten Modelle unterschieden sich in Form, Grösse, Farbe, Oberflächen struktur und Stiel des Blattes. Es wurde gezeigt, dass physikalische Reize zusammen mit den chemischen Stoffe auf der Blattoberfläche stimulierend wirken. Ein natürliches Eiablageverhalten und die stärkste Eiablage wurde durch ein Modell ausgelöst, welches sich durch leuchtend grüne Farbe, Stiel und vertikale Falten und einen Paraffinnüberzug auszeichnete.

     

The effect of a chemical deterrent, released from the frass of caterpillars of the garden pebble moth, on cabbage root fly oviposition

The cabbage root fly, Delia radicum (L.), was deterred from laying eggs on cauliflower plants that had been sprayed with a suspension of the frass of caterpillars of the garden pebble moth, Evergestis forficalis (L.). Polar extracts of the frass deterred oviposition irrespective of the cruciferous plant species on which the caterpillars had been feeding. Non-polar extracts of the frass had no effect. Spraying plants with macerates from Brassica leaves stimulated fly oviposition whereas spraying plants with macerates from garlic mustard leaves deterred fly oviposition. Macerates from the leaves of all other plants tested had no effect. In field experiments the deterrent effect persisted 2–3 days after leaves were sprayed with frass extracts. Plants infested with feeding caterpillars and contaminated with only a few discrete frass pellets were as deterrent to the fly as those sprayed with frass suspensions.

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Résumé D. radicum a évité de pondre sur des pieds de chou-fleur, qui avaient été pulvérisés avec une suspension d'excréments d'E. forficalis. Les extraits polaires de ces excréments empêchent la ponte quelle que soit l'espère de crucifère sur laquelle les chenilles se sont alimentées. Les extraits non polares sont sans effet. Dans la nature, l'action dissuadante persiste 2 à 3 jours après la pulvérisation des feuilles avec les extraits d'excréments. La pulvérisation tous les deux jours a maintenu l'action dissuadante. Des plantes contaminées par des chenilles en train de s'alimenter et souillées par quelques crottes sont aussi dissuadantes pour la mouche que celles pulvérisées avec une suspension d'excréments.

     

Influence of background on host-plant selection and subsequent oviposition by the cabbage root fly (Delia radicum)

The behaviour of female cabbage root flies during host plant selection was studied in the laboratory using brassica plants growing in backgrounds of bare soil, clover, grass, peas and four non-living materials. Gravid females landed about twice as often on brassica plants growing in bare soil than on comparable plants growing amongst non-host plants. Once a receptive female landed on a brassica plant, the female made, on average, four ‘spiral flights’ and two jumps on and off the plant before laying alongside the plant. Surrounding a brassica plant with a diverse background altered the behaviour of the flies, so that the spiral flights around the host plant were replaced by short hops between nearby vertical objects. The loss of contact and recontact with the host plant then prevented the females from accumulating sufficient contacts with the host plant to be stimulated to lay. Spiral flights around host plants appear to determine whether or not flies will lay alongside host plants. Flies in mixed plantings have a reduced rate of settling on the host plant, and a higher rate of locomotion, because they land frequently on non-host plants. Hence, visual stimuli appeared to have greater effects than, chemical or mechanical barriers in deterring flies from laying alongside brassica plants in diverse backgrounds. In ‘choice’ situations, backgrounds of real plants reduced oviposition alongside brassica plants by at least 50%. In ‘no-choice’ situations, flies laid similar numbers of eggs alongside all brassica plants irrespective of plant background or plant size. If numbers of fly eggs are to be reduced on commercial brassica crops by undersowing the crops with clover, plants growing in bare soil may also have to be included to provide the flies with sites preferred for oviposition.     

Arabidopsis thaliana leaf-surface extracts are detected by the cabbage root fly (Delia radicum) and stimulate oviposition

Abstract. Oviposition of the cabbage root fly, Delia radicum (Diptera, Anthomyiidae) is stimulated by leaf‐surface extracts of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. (Brassicaceae) ecotype Columbia. The leaf surface of A. thaliana, similar to that of many other crucifers, contains glucosinolates and CIF (‘cabbage identification factor’; 1,2‐dehydro‐3‐thia‐4,10,10b‐triaza‐cyclopenta[.a.]fluorene‐1‐carboxylic acid). These compounds stimulate receptor neurones of the tarsal sensilla of D. radicum whereas additional, unknown compounds are detected by other receptor neurones.     

The effect of plant density on populations of the cabbage root fly on four cruciferous crops

To study the effects of plant density on populations of the cabbage root fly (Erioischia brassicae), cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprout and swede were each planted in plots with twenty-four concentric circles of plants at spacings ranging from 10 to 90 cm between the individual plants. Plants treated with a root drench of chlorfenvinphos and untreated plants were each sampled at ten plant densities which ranged from 1–5 to 68-3 plants/m². In the absence of insecticide, the numbers of overwintering cabbage root fly pupae produced ranged from c. four per m² at the lowest plant density to 200 per m² at the highest. The number of pupae per m² was proportional to plant density to the powers 0–98,0-77,0–69 and o-6i for the swede, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprout crops, respectively. The magnitude of each cabbage root fly population was determined mainly by plant density but also by the cultivar used as host plant. The results suggested that, in a given locality, when changing from low to high plant density crops during a growing season it should be unnecessary to apply insecticide to control cabbage root fly; conversely, a change from high to low plant densities would necessitate an extremely efficient application of insecticide.     

Chemosterilization of the cabbage root fly under field conditions

Removing hedgerow feeding sites from within 40, 80 or 160 m of cauliflower plots, failed to reduce populations of the cabbage root fly (Erioischia brassicae (Bouché)). Oviposition on the plots was unchanged but the efficiency of yellow water-traps was improved. Traps along-side cleared hedgerows caught more gravid than non-gravid females. In cages, 94% of the eggs laid were sterile when both sterilant baits containing tepa [tris-(i-aziridinyl) phosphine oxide] and hedgerow flowers were present. In the field, maximum egg-sterility rarely exceeded 30% when sterilant was present when natural sterility averaged 8%. Chemosterilization was an inadequate control since sufficient eggs and larvae survived to produce root-damage indices of 49 % in contrast to 2 % on insecticide-treated plants. Most eggs were sterile when chemosterilant baits were placed 0.75 m apart and bait was most effective when placed around the crop during the pre-oviposition period and through the crop at the time of maximum oviposition. Increasing the concentration of tepa failed to increase the effectiveness of the bait but a higher proportion of the eggs laid were sterile on large than on small plots. When chemosterilant treatments were stopped, egg-fertility gradually reverted to the natural level. Protracted immigration, an innate tendency for females to disperse, reductions in the competitiveness of sterile males, and the failure of males to re-disperse once sterilized, appeared to be the main factors limiting the levels of sterility in root-fly populations exposed to tepa-baited lures in the field.     

Effect of trap background on cabbage root fly landing and capture

Pieces (600 mm × 800 mm) of coloured board, plastic sheeting and woven materials, place beneath water traps prevented the traps from becoming soiled during rainy weather. Such backgrounds are not recommended for use with traps for monitoring populations of the cabbage root fly (Delia radicum L. — Diptera: Anthomyiidae), however, as, instead of increasing trap catch they reduced the numbers of female flies caught by 70%–90%. The main effect was that the visually attractive stimuli from the introduced backgrounds competed with those from the trap. A white background competed with a white trap on a direct fly/unit area basis. Green backgrounds stimulated males to land and the vertical stems of both real and artificial grass induced trivial flights that resulted in greater numbers of males entering traps resting on short grass. Most females were caught over bare soil. To minimize the variation in catch between traps used for monitoring cabbage root fly populations, the background beneath each trap should be similar. For maximum capture, the background should be of grass for male flies and of bare soil for female flies. Care is required if data from traps within mulched crops are used to make pest control decisions, as they will underestimate considerably the numbers of flies in such crops.     

丹皮酚对马铃薯块茎蛾雌虫产卵选择及幼虫的忌避作用研究

为探讨丹皮酚对马铃薯块茎蛾Phthorimaea operculella(Zeller)行为的影响,采用室内生物测定法,研究了丹皮酚对马铃薯块茎蛾雌虫产卵选择及初孵幼虫、老熟幼虫的忌避作用.结果表明,丹皮酚对马铃薯块茎蛾雌虫产卵、初孵幼虫、老熟幼虫均有显著忌避作用:选择性产卵实验中,5 mg/mL丹皮酚溶液的忌避指数为...     

The distribution and analysis of cabbage root fly egg populations

The distribution of the egg stage of the cabbage root fly around brassica plants was studied at Wellesbourne on 0.05–0.4 ha plots during 1970 and 1971. The three generations of flies occurred at similar times in both years and the numbers of eggs collected generally decreased from the first to the third generation. Differences between generations demonstrated that each generation should be treated separately. The number of plant samples required for a given level of precision increased from the first to the third generation, indicating that experiments relying on egg counts should be planned to coincide with the first generation whenever possible. A sampling plan for the range of oviposition normally encountered during the three generations is illustrated for both one- and five-plant samples. For the same level of precision, estimates of the populations from five-plant samples required only 50% to 80% of the time of those from one-plant samples. When aestivation occurs the peak of oviposition in the second generation is difficult to determine, and designed experiments should not be undertaken. The negative binomial distribution failed to describe the clumping of the eggs for a complete generation, since a common k could not be fitted to the data. The distribution of the eggs was best described by Taylor's power law which showed that although sampling factors changed with generation, the value of the power did not. A value of 1.4 appears to be the index of aggregation characteristic of the egg stage of this species.     

An analysis of the deterrent effect of aphids on cabbage root fly (Delia radicum) egg-laying

Abstract. 1. The cabbage root fly, Delia radicum (L.), was deterred from laying eggs on brassica plants with >250 cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae (L.), or peach-potato aphid, Myzuspersicae (Sulz.).
2. Flies did not lay on plants infested with >250 aphids.
3. Preparations of (E)-β-farnesene, the aphid alarm pheromone, deterred the flies from laying only at the extremely high dose of 32 mg/plant.
4. Although M. persicae secreted large (1 ng/insect) amounts of alarm pheromone and B. brassicae extremely small (<0.01 ng/insect) amounts, both aphids equally deterred D. radicum from laying.
5. The deterrent effect appeared to result from the aphids physically disturbing the flies during host-plant selection.     

Influence of formulation on chlorfenvinphos uptake and cabbage root fly control on radish

Granular and liquid formulations of chlorfenvinphos were applied to a sandy-loam as continuous logarithmically-changing doses of approximately 0.2 to 4.0 kg a.i./ha and radish were sown immediately and 23 days after treatment. After 62 days, insecticide concentrations in the soil had not diminished detectably in the granule treatment but had declined by about 20% in the liquid treatment. In both sowings, residues in the harvested radish were higher, dose-for-dose, from the granule than from the liquid treatment and with both formulations were lower in the second than in the first sowing. Within treatments there were log-log relationships between the dose of insecticide and residue concentrations in the soil and radish. In both sowings the residues were most variable between replicate soil and crop samples from the granule treatment. In the first sowing, cabbage root fly damage was reduced most by the liquid treatment but in the second sowing equivalent doses of the two formulations gave similar protection. At 2.0, 2.24 or 3.0 kg a.i./ha, chlorfenvinphos incorporated before sowing protected radish better than pre-sowing or pre-emergence applications to the soil surface. When applied before sowing, the liquid formulation gave better protection and lower residue concentrations in the radish than the granules. As a post-emergence spray, chlorfenvinphos was much more effective than fonofos, diazinon or triazophos but it was often phytotoxic, decreased yield significantly, left large residues in the radish in two of the four experiments and, in common with other surface treatments, substantially decreased the Z:E chlorfenvinphos isomer ratio. Although a single application of granules protected two successive radish crops, it was concluded that third and subsequent sowings on the same land should probably be treated with smaller doses to limit terminal residues.